Senior company members of the Dance Centre Kenya (DCK) Neema Lazzaroni (C) and Azza Qamar Rollins (R) hold onto each other while following the performance backstage ahead of their roles in The Nutcracker at the Kenya National Theatre in Nairobi on December 7, 2024. The Nutcracker is a beloved Christmas ballet, first performed in 1892, with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Known for its enchanting score and festive themes, it has become a holiday tradition worldwide. (Photo by Luis Tato/AFP Photo)

Susan Njeri (C), mother of late face mask vendor Boniface Mwangi Kariuki, breaks down at Kenyatta University Funeral Home in Nairobi, Kenya, 11 July 2025. Kariuki was shot by police on 17 June during protests over the death of a Kenyan blogger in police custody. He died two weeks later while receiving treatment. (Photo by Daniel Irungu/EPA)

Amy Winehouse's father Mitch Winehouse (C) mother Janis Winehouse (L in white) brother Alex Winehouse (R) and former boyfriend Reg Traviss (2nd R) look at floral tributes left at her house by fans on July 25, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Singer Kevin Lyttle (C) performs during the Premier Beverage: Jocktails 2012 Orlando at the Orlando Magic Experience Center on February 24, 2012 in Orlando, United States. (Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images for Premier Beverage Company)

The National Geographic Photo Ark is a travelling exhibition of photographer Joel Sartore’s quest to create a photo archive of biodiversity around the world. So far, Sartore has captured studio portraits of more than 6,000 species – a number that he hopes to double. On 1 July, the ark will open at Melbourne zoo – the first time it has been exhibited in the southern hemisphere. More than 50 portraits will be on display, including many of Australian endangered animals being protected by programs at the zoo itself. These captions have been edited from text supplied by Melbourne zoo. Here: Barking owl. (Photo by Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark/The Guardian)

To produce the images that convey his fatalistic and ironic approach to life, tinged with hope, he needed the environment and knowledge of Mother Russia, oiled with a bit of bribery to certain circus trainers. Enter the Great Russian Bear, the personification of Russia for the last several centuries, onto center stage and into his studio. The bear is recognized as both brutish and cute – Misha was the mascot for the 1980 Olympic Games – and has remained a symbol of Russia since Tsarist times. In 2009 it is the symbol of the United Russia Party.

“Douglas Fisher has worked in the photographic industry for more than 25 years, starting out at 19 as an assistant before establishing his own studio, just two years later. Here, Douglas would go on to be among the first to champion the emerging worlds of digital photography and CGI, identifying early the transformative impact they would bring to advertising and high end photography”. – Tim Mitchell

Photo: «Carlsberg Launch». (Photo by Douglas Fisher)